JOSEP GARCIA STRENGTHENS ENDUROGP LEAD WITH VICTORY IN WALES

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Josep Garcia capped off the penultimate round of the FIM EnduroGP World Championship in Wales with victory in both the EnduroGP and Enduro1 categories on day two. The Spaniard, locked in a battle for the top step of the podium both days, was able to increase his lead in the EnduroGP class to 17 points with one round remaining.

Two weeks after his winning ride at the GP of Slovakia, Garcia was back on track for the penultimate round of the EnduroGP season in Wales. With the leader’s gold plate on his KTM 250 EXC-F, Josep was focused on strengthening his advantage over his nearest rivals.

Placing second in the Friday evening super test, Garcia began Saturday in confident spirits. However, the Spaniard struggled to find his rhythm on the special tests during the opening two laps. On the third and final lap, things began to click for the KTM rider and the fight for victory was back on.

Fastest in the penultimate cross test and final enduro test, he closed the gap to the leading two riders. Giving it his all on the final two tests, he placed just five seconds behind the winner in third in EnduroGP, while finishing as runner-up in Enduro1.

Knowing how to best judge the tough Welsh terrain, Garcia came out swinging on day two. Quickly putting himself into the overall lead on lap one, he set about capturing that EnduroGP win. Fighting all day with rivals Brad Freeman and Steve Holcombe, Garcia trailed Freeman for the lead by one second as they began the tenth and final special test of the day.

Blitzing the cross test to set the fastest time, Josep went on to take the EnduroGP victory by an incredible 15 hundredths of a second. The result also saw him top the podium in Enduro1 for the seventh time this season.

Now, with just the seventh and final round of the championship remaining, Garcia will arrive at the GP of France, on September 13-15, with a 17-point advantage in EnduroGP, while also leading Enduro1 by six points.

Josep Garcia: “It’s been a super competitive weekend in Wales, but I’m pleased to have come away with the EnduroGP victory on day two. Saturday started out a bit tricky. I didn’t find my rhythm on the first two laps and was just off the pace of the top two. I felt good on the last lap, but ran out of time to finish better than third. I knew day two could be better and began fast. The battle was super tight, and it all boiled down to the final test. I’m so happy I won and can now look forward to the final round in France next month.”

Taking in a wild card ride at the GP of Wales, FMF KTM Factory Racing Team Landers' Gus Riordan produced one of the standout performances of the weekend. Despite round six marking the young Australian’s first EnduroGP outing, he didn’t let the occasion faze him.

Blisteringly fast in Friday’s Super Test, the KTM youngster let everyone know he’d arrived by setting the outright fastest time. Competing in the highly-competitive Enduro Junior category, Gus went on to win day one. Aiming to back that up on Sunday, he almost made it two-for-two, finishing less than half of a second from victory as runner-up.

Results: FIM EnduroGP World Championship, Round 6

EnduroGP - Day 1
1. Steve Holcombe (GBR), Honda, 56:54.44
2. Brad Freeman (GBR), Beta, 56:58.65
3. Josep Garcia (ESP), KTM, 57:00.04
4. Andrea Verona (ITA), GASGAS, 57:16.70

Enduro1 - Day 1
1. Steve Holcombe (GBR), Honda, 56:54.44
2. Josep Garcia (ESP), KTM, 57:00.04
3. Zach Pichon (FRA), Sherco, 58:19.76

EnduroGP - Day 2
1. Josep Garcia (ESP), KTM, 55:02.28
2. Brad Freeman (GBR), Beta, 55:02.43
3. Steve Holcombe (GBR), Honda, 55:07.72
4. Andrea Verona (ITA), GASGAS, 55:45.23

Enduro1 - Day 2
1. Josep Garcia (ESP), KTM, 55:02.28
2. Steve Holcombe (GBR), Honda, 55:07.72
3. Zach Pichon (FRA), Sherco, 56:07.63

Championship Standings (After round 6 of 7)

EnduroGP
1. Josep Garcia (ESP), KTM, 212pts
2. Andrea Verona (ITA), GASGAS, 195pts
3. Steve Holcombe (GBR), Honda, 189pts

Enduro1
1. Josep Garcia (ESP), KTM, 225pts
2. Steve Holcombe (GBR), Honda, 219pts
3. Zach Pichon (FRA), Sherco, 168pts

CHASE SEXTON AND AARON PLESSINGER LAND RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING ON UNADILLA PODIUM

查看资料
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Chase Sexton earned his fourth-straight overall victory as the 2024 AMA Pro Motocross Championship returned to action at Unadilla, marking Round 9 of the season. Aaron Plessinger made it a double podium for the team in 450MX in third position overall. Sexton qualified fastest onboard his KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION and then took the checkered flag in second position following Moto 1. He stepped up in the second moto to get out front instantly and sprint away from the chasing pack, winning by 7.107 seconds to seal the overall. His series lead continues to sit on 28 points with two rounds remaining.

Chase Sexton:   "I've worked on my starts a lot, that was my first holeshot of the summer in Moto2, and I felt so good at the beginning of the race. I sprinted away and managed it from there – that was a fun moto! The track felt a lot better to me in that second moto, so I'm excited for the next two to finish out the season."

The opening moto saw Plessinger storm to the holeshot in technical conditions, eventually finishing in P3, but he had his work cut out for him in Moto 2 after a bad start. A hard-fought ride from outside of the top 15 to fourth place enabled him to salvage the podium overall and, as a result, he has also climbed to third in the championship standings.

Aaron Plessinger:   "Man, I was so far back on the first lap! It felt like they held the gate for 20 seconds and I almost sat up, then sure enough, they dropped it. I was not ready at all, but it was a hard-fought ride and I just clicked another gear – I felt so good, it was such a good ride. Definitely hard-fought, I could hear the fans and I knew I just had to keep taking over the positions. In the end, we found ourselves on the podium for the weekend."

The 250MX round at Unadilla saw Julien Beaumer finish in ninth overall on his KTM 250 SX-F FACTORY EDITION, which was delivered via a consistent 8-10 scorecard. The rookie is now 11th in the series, continuing to gain important race mileage in the professional ranks as the series reaches its final stages.

Julien Beaumer:   "It was a good day. Qualifying wasn't the best, but I turned it around in the motos. In both races I had bad starts, but really good riding. In that second one I made a mistake late in the moto, but came back to ninth, so I'm happy with my day and the progress we were able to make over the three-week break."

Two-time world champion Tom Vialle endured a mixed day at the office, qualifying in fifth position, but crashing on the opening lap of Moto 1. That proved costly for the Frenchman as he worked his way back to 22nd – just outside the points – and then further rebounded in the final race for P3 in the moto. He's now third in the title race with two rounds remaining.

Tom Vialle:   "I had a big crash in the opening lap of the first moto and was last, then had to stop to make some adjustments on the bike, so came back to P22 and that was the best I could do. In the second moto, I started around seventh or eighth and finished the moto third, so of course I am a little bit frustrated, but we will keep fighting across these two races to go."

Next Race:  August 17 – Budds Creek, Maryland

Results 450MX Class – Unadilla National
1. Chase Sexton (USA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
2. Hunter Lawrence (AUS), Honda
3. Aaron Plessinger (USA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
8. Christian Craig (USA), Husqvarna
9. Malcolm Stewart (USA), Husqvarna

Standings 450MX Class 2024 after 9 of 11 rounds
1. Chase Sexton, 407 points
2. Hunter Lawrence, 379
3. Aaron Plessinger, 319
7. Malcolm Stewart, 238
9. Christian Craig, 188
11. Justin Barcia, 148

Results 250MX Class – Unadilla National
1. Levi Kitchen (USA), Kawasaki
2. Haiden Deegan (USA), Yamaha
3. Jalek Swoll (USA), Triumph
6. Pierce Brown (USA), GASGAS
9. Julien Beaumer (USA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
10. Ryder DiFrancesco (USA), GASGAS
11. Tom Vialle (FRA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
16. Casey Cochran (USA), Husqvarna

Standings 250MX Class 2024 after 9 of 11 rounds
1. Haiden Deegan, 408 points
2. Levi Kitchen, 338
3. Tom Vialle, 327
7. Pierce Brown, 225
9. Ryder DiFrancesco, 204
11. Julien Beaumer, 174
12. Casey Cochran, 164

Tenth MXGP podium in a row for Herlings with 3rd place in Sweden

查看资料
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing started another back-to-back Grand Prix stint with two more trophies at Uddevalla and the annual trip to Sweden. The fifteenth MXGP fixture of the year took place in sunny, warm and breezy conditions north of Gothenburg and Jeffrey Herlings finished 3rd with his KTM 450 SX-F while Andrea Adamo returned to the MX2 rostrum as runner-up on the KTM 250 SX-F.